ARGENTINA: Possible Argentine presidential contender Daniel Scioli urges investors to look past economic uncertainty

Record ID: 447724

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Possible Argentine presidential contender Daniel Scioli urges investors to look past economic uncertainty
  • Date: 12th February 2014
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FEBRUARY 11, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE OF BUENOS AIRES, DANIEL SCIOLI, SAYING: "The political cycle that is coming shouldn't be of the Argentina that 'always starts over again,' but will require a politician who can help carry over the best policies, correct what needs to be corrected, change what needs to be changed, help generate more confidence every day, unity and an integrated government that can fundamentally bring the country to great development after all these years of recovery (and) growth. I think that's what it takes and that's where I trust my experience which is now more than six years governing a province like this one."
  • Embargoed: 27th February 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: General,Economy,Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA5CV2G4U0723BMQ59GJSX89H9A
  • Story Text: A leading early contender in Argentina's presidential election race, Daniel Scioli, is urging investors to look beyond the recent economic upheaval that triggered the biggest drop in the peso currency in a decade and rattled global markets.
    The sharp slide of the Argentine peso last month has raised investor concerns of a brewing financial crisis in South America's second-largest economy.
    The currency has already shed 16.5 percent of its value this year.
    Scioli, who is governor of Buenos Aires province and is widely expected to seek the presidency next year, will travel to New York this week to meet with businessmen and investors and encourage them to take a longer view on Argentina's economy.
    On Tuesday (February 11) he described the reaction to the recent financial turmoil as "overblown."
    "How can you talk in apocalyptic terms about a country that has a 6.5 percent unemployment rate, that has the lowest debt level of countries in the world, that is on the cusp of receiving $30 billion dollars from a record harvest, that has a central bank professionally driven to take care of these precise speculative conditions that can happen in the market. [JOURNALIST ASKING: Is there a misinterpretation of what is happening?]. Let's look how everything stabilized. The dollar dropped 10 percent in the last week," he told Reuters.
    Scioli served as the country's vice president under former President Nestor Kirchner from 2003 to 2007.
    He is also an ally of Kirchner's widow and current President Cristina Fernandez who has seen sagging approval ratings in recent months.
    Nonetheless Scioli has remained one of Argentina's most popular politicians and is widely seen as more of a centrist and more likely to adopt business-friendly policies.
    Argentina's central bank has recently staunched the drain of foreign reserves and bolstered the peso, now trading at 7.8 pesos to the dollar, by hiking interest rates and reducing the amount of dollars banks can hold.
    Argentina is also in the midst of settling several trade disputes including its take-over of Spanish oil firm Repsol and payments to 'holdout' bondholders in the United States.
    "The issue with the holdouts which is currently in the (United States) Supreme Court, the issue of the ICSID [International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes], five judgements have already been determined. The Repsol issue is very much on track, however, I think whoever decides to invest early is going to have the biggest returns in a market like Argentina, which has strategic sectors today for the future world economy, like food, energy, minerals, tourism," Scioli said.
    Scioli hails from Fernandez's Peronist Party, where the front-runner in the 2015 vote is expected to emerge, and he has a strong power base in Buenos Aires province, the country's largest.
    Cordoba's provincial governor Jose Manuel de la Sota and congressman Sergio Massa, both Peronists, are also expected to compete in the election.
    Another potential contender is Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri from the centre-right PRO party.
    Scioli suggested Argentina's next leader should not be one that will take everything back to the drawing board.
    "The political cycle that is coming shouldn't be of the Argentina that 'always starts over again,' but will require a politician who can help carry over the best policies, correct what needs to be corrected, change what needs to be changed, help generate more confidence every day, unity and an integrated government that can fundamentally bring the country to great development after all these years of recovery (and) growth. I think that's what it takes and that's where I trust my experience which is now more than six years governing a province like this one," Scioli said.
    The Buenos Aires province Scioli governs is home to almost 40 percent of the country's population, some of Argentina's most productive agriculture lands and its leading industrial centres.
    Although Scioli has not formally announced he will be a candidate next year his aides handed out pens before the interview in downtown Buenos Aires with the slogan "Scioli 2015."
    His visit to New York is viewed as an early international appearance ahead of the race.
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